


Arm Yourself

by neveralarch



Category: Nimona (Web Comic)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 08:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neveralarch/pseuds/neveralarch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Building yourself a new right arm is difficult when you're right-handed.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arm Yourself

**Author's Note:**

  * For [activevirtues](https://archiveofourown.org/users/activevirtues/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, randomeliza! I hope you like this.

Building yourself a new right arm is difficult when you're right-handed. Ballister fumbles the screwdriver, curses as it drops to the floor. He bends to pick it up, careful not to jostle the frame of his arm where it lies on his worktable.

They'd fitted him for a mechanical arm at the hospital, but it had squeaked and clanked and broken down every other day. Ballister had repaired it, for a while, but in the end he decided to build one from scratch. His new arm would be agile and graceful and would not squeak at all. It would be able to carry as much weight as his shoulder could take, and have pegs to snap armor in place when he needed it. His new arm would be perfect.

He probably shouldn't have dismantled the old arm in order to build his new one, however. Yes, he did need the parts, but trying to use a wrench with one hand was turning out to be surprisingly tricky.

He'd have to build a special table for arm maintenance, one with clamps to hold things in place and special divots for putting screws and washers in until he was ready to use them. And he could have special tools that propped themselves up, yes, make it easier to do the wiring and the fitting, and-

Ballister loses himself in dreams of future innovations, and almost doesn't notice when the final plate is screwed together. But the screw won't turn any further, and it jolts him out of his imaginings. It's done.

He brings the arm up to his shoulder and locks it in place, breath catching in his throat as he waits for the arm to sync up with the controls in his shoulder.

It feels so heavy.

Something shifts, in the arm or in the shoulder or in Ballister's brain, and his fingers twitch. He raises the arm up to eye level, and moves the fingers, one by one by one.

No squeaking. No delay. Perfect.

Ballister smiles, relishing this moment. It is, he's sure, the first of many, many triumphs.


End file.
